A Time to Kill
A Time to Kill is a 1996 American crime drama film. Synopsis In Canton, Mississippi, a fearless young lawyer and his assistant defend a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, inciting violent retribution and revenge from the Ku Klux Klan. Plot In Canton, Mississippi, ten-year old African American Tonya Hailey is abducted, raped, and beaten by two white supremacists, Billy Ray Cobb and Pete Willard. The duo dump her in a nearby river after a failed attempt to hang her. Tonya survives, and the two men are arrested by Sheriff Ozzie Walls. Tonya's father, Carl Lee Hailey, contacts Jake Brigance, a white lawyer. Brigance admits the possibility that the rapists will walk free. Carl Lee goes to the county courthouse and opens fire with an automatic rifle, killing both rapists and unintentionally injuring Deputy Dwayne Looney with a ricochet. Carl Lee is arrested and Brigance agrees to defend him. The rape and subsequent revenge killing gain national media attention. The district attorney, Rufus Buckley, decides to seek the death penalty, and presiding Judge Omar Noose denies Brigance a change of venue to a more ethnically diverse county, meaning that Carl Lee will have an all-white jury. Brigance seeks help from his defense team: law student Ellen Roark, close friend Harry Rex Vonner, and former mentor and longtime activist Lucien Wilbanks, a once-great civil rights lawyer. Meanwhile, Freddie Lee Cobb plans to avenge his brother Billy Ray's death by enlisting the help of the Mississippi branch of the Ku Klux Klan and its Grand Dragon, Stump Sisson. On the first day of the trial, the Klan rallies only to be outnumbered by counter-protesters consisting of the area's black and multiracial residents as well as some whites who support Carl Lee. The protest erupts into a riot that results in dozens of injuries and the death of Stump Sisson. The Klan also begins to target Brigance, assaulting his elderly secretary and her husband (who ends up dying of a fatal heart attack brought on by the assault), burning a cross on his lawn and threatening his wife and daughter. When Brigance refuses to back down, Cobb kidnaps and assaults Roark. The Klan increases their attacks, including burning Brigance's house. Dispirited, Brigance tells Carl Lee that there is little hope for an acquittal. Carl Lee replies that he had chosen him as an attorney because even a racist jury would listen to a white man; as "one of the bad guys", he has an influence that a black man will never have. During closing arguments, a deeply shaken Brigance tells the jury to close their eyes and listen to a story. He describes, in slow and painful detail, the rape of a 10-year-old girl, recalling the story of Tonya's rape. He then asks the jury, in his final comment, to "now imagine she's white." After deliberation, a black child runs out of the courthouse and screams, "He's innocent!" Jubilation ensues amongst the supporters outside. The Klan, enraged, begins yelling in anger. Meanwhile, Sheriff Walls arrests Freddie Lee for his crimes, as well as a corrupted deputy that was by Freddie's side. Brigance brings his wife and daughter to a family cookout at Carl Lee's house to celebrate his freedom. Cast Category:1996 films Category:American films Category:Crime films Category:Drama films Category:Films starring Samuel L. Jackson Category:Films starring Matthew McConaughey Category:Films starring Kevin Spacey Category:Films starring Sandra Bullock